Prime Minister Narendra Modi may be trying to forge new relationships with Germany and Japan, but the External Services Division of All India Radio, which broadcasts in 27 languages to the world, does not have German and Japanese on the list, continuing a British legacy of World War II.
AIR’s external radio broadcasts were started by the British to counter German and Japanese propaganda during the war. Today, the division broadcasts in 27 languages — 15 foreign and 12 Indian. Its officials grapple with the languages inherited from the British, which are broadcast 83 hours daily, as they struggle to get professionals for the job, which requires proficiency in English and a foreign language.
The services continue with just 22 employees against the sanctioned strength of 110.
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The content is a mix of current affairs and news on economy, entertainment and sports, but there is no way to tell who is tuning in. Odd letters do come in from listeners, but there is no mechanism to gauge the reach of the services. “The attempt is to showcase the government’s achievements,” an official said. Quite often, the officials have to rope in retired professionals to do the job. “Getting people to speak in French is not a problem. It’s languages such as Thai and Swahili which pose a problem for us, but we try and manage with limited resources,” the official said.
Within a few days of the outbreak of World War II, Great Britain started the Central News Unit on October 1, 1940 to supplement the efforts made by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and counter the German propaganda.
As the war progressed, more languages were introduced. Towards the end of the war, 22 languages were being beamed across the world. Arabic, Baluchi, Burmese, Chinese, English, French, Persian, Pushtu, Russian, Saraiki, Swahili, Thai were added to the list. Ironically, the Indian government has continued with the legacy by keeping the languages of the then “Axis powers” at bay.
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The functions of the division were last reviewed in 1983 by an inter-governmental committee comprising officials from the Ministries of Home Affairs, External Affairs and Information and Broadcasting. Since then, its programmes continue to be broadcast on shortwave.
A letter sent a fortnight ago to the External Affairs Ministry seeks directions on whether more languages should be introduced in external radio broadcasts or some removed. “The absence of German and Japanese programmes has been highlighted from time to time, but there appears to be little interest in radio as a whole. Indian missions were also asked for their feedback,” the official said.
Ministry officials say the External Services Division is not their responsibility. “They have to tell us how they wish to structure the services. We will assist them in whatever way possible,” they said.
(This article has been updated for a factual error)